This week, we looked into a reader's question about how citations for illegal Independence Day fireworks compared to the numbers complaints streaming in about them each year. Now that the big day has come and gone, we checked in with authorities to see how their Thursday nights went.
"It was a busy night for the whole metro area, I'll tell you that," Aurora Fire public information officer (PIO) Sean Dunnion told us.
His colleagues responded to 108 medical and fire calls between 8 p.m. and midnight. Like everyone we spoke to, Dunnion said his department is still sussing out how many of those were directly related to fireworks. Regardless of the specifics, it was a lot.
"Extremely busy," he said. "That's hopping."
Denver Fire PIO JD Chism said his colleagues responded to 126 fires between Thursday and Friday. 119 of them were trash or yard fires; on June 4, for comparison, they saw just 28 similar incidents.
A Denver Police spokesperson told us their officers issued at least one citation for fireworks during the holiday; they said data can be delayed in their systems, so they could find another. Last year, they only issued four.
Makenzie Dale, PIO with South Metro Fire Rescue, said people in Littleton, Centennial and in other parts of the south metro area saw about 50 fires related to fireworks, and also some medical emergencies.
"One adult was seriously injured and one child sustained minor injuries from fireworks accidents, and both were transported to hospitals," she wrote us.
Ronda Scholting, PIO with West Metro Fire, told us they were similarly slammed.
"We had 29 fires between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.," she told us. "One was a structure fire, which investigators say was related to fireworks. The homeowners put what they thought was spent fireworks into a trash can in the garage, which then — as it turned out — were not totally out."
The other 28 were grass fires, most she expects were fireworks-related. It's an especially bad time for this, she added.
"We have high fire danger currently, and we've had that in our district for almost two weeks," she said.
Dunnion, with Aurora Fire, echoed what we heard from authorities before the Fourth: Most of this stuff is illegal, so maybe don't set them off. But if you do, just know you're literally playing with fire.
"Just make sure you do it safely," he said. "People can still get hurt. Fires can still start."
Also, if you're curious about air pollution impacts:
Even if you didn't see any fires while you were out watching all the informal fireworks shows across town, you almost certainly saw some some haze floating through the streetlights.
According to state air quality data, particulate pollution more than doubled from about 6 to 9 p.m.
Between rising fire danger with a warming climate, and broader concerns about pollution, people have started to talk about banning fireworks altogether. But one thing on Thursday was clear: Many Denverites have not gotten that memo.
"I just want to thank the neighborhood for putting on the best firework show every year!" someone wrote in a Denver neighborhood Facebook group. "Y’all are the real MVPs."
This story has been updated with a comment from DPD.
